The wind blows where it wills...

At this time of year especially I enjoy taking photos of flowers; close-ups, sometimes single or clusters, other times poking my camera as far into the flower as the focus will allow. It can take a while to get things just right: to line up the camera so the flower is nicely centred (or artistically off-centre); to play with zooms, catch the sunlight, make sure the focus is clear... and then, just as I'm there, just as I'm about to click... a playful breeze tugs the flower, sending it every which way but where I want it to be!

Windlessness is vital for this sort of thing, but right now it's a rare commodity. Even the gentlest of breezes can play havoc with the perfect framing of a flower. The wind blows where it wills...

The interesting thing is, of course, that I wouldn't normally notice the wind, unless it's especially strong. A rippling breeze definitely doesn't usually impinge on my consciousness - until it gets in the way of what I'm trying to do! Then I'm all too aware of it, of its strength and its uncontrollability. And, of course, there's nothing I can do, except wait "patiently", camera poised, until the breeze kindly recedes and allows me to get on with taking my photo.

So I wonder how much and how often I am aware of the workings and the power of the Spirit? As with the wind, I know when I feel that power forcefully; when the Spirit comes whooshing into my life, tugging, disturbing, unsettling. But what of the Spirit as gentle breeze? I suspect I only notice it when it has some rippling effect on my life: small, subtle, nuanced, generally unremarkable... but powerful nonetheless, in that even the seemingly gentlest of breezes can stop me doing what I want!

Today I'm especially aware of the Spirit... but of course, the Spirit isn't only for Pentecost! Its presence and power, as much as its gifts and fruits, are for every day. And asking the Spirit to Come... fill my heart, enkindle within it the fire of your love needn't be confined to an annual event - I can invoke the Spirit anytime. I need to remember that, and do it. And then...? Ah well, the fruits of that are up to the Spirit...!